What a fantastic World Cup Tournament we have witnessed. Russia 2018 has gripped the nation especially with the performance of England progressing to the semi-finals for the first time since 1990 - and of course all credit to France for winning their second title.

I personally have enjoyed this World Cup for many reasons, not just the fact that England have done so well, but the rest of the world’s elite footballing nations have played their part in some magnificent matches. Along with Russia entering into the spirit of the World Cup by allowing the travelling fans and supporters the chance to experience the delights of this year’s competition.

However, for me I would like to commend all the people and companies who had an involvement in constructing, preparing and maintaining the playing surfaces at this exceptional tournament. Each and every stadium pitch along with the all the training venues have stood up to the rigours and expectations of the world's best footballing teams.

These stadium pitches do not appear overnight. Along with the training grounds, they have taken between two and three years to develop, with a lot of sportsturf companies and individuals working tirelessly together to deliver on time, these exceptional stadium and training pitches.

Our sportsturf industry in the last fifteen years has gone from strength to strength with many of our leading sports venues reaping the benefits of the dedication and skills of both our grounds professionals and innovative companies who have strived to provide the machinery, resources and products to produce some of the best playing surfaces in the world.

Many of our top UK sporting stadiums are revered all around the world, Wimbledon, Wembley Lord's, Twickenham and most of our Premiership clubs are leading the way in how we manage and maintain natural turf pitches.

Therefore it is not surprising that a number of UK sports turf companies and individuals had a part to play in this year’s World Cup. I can only mention the ones I personally know, who have had some involvement in one way or another, beginning with the architect, consultants and planners. I am aware that the STRI, Richard Hayden (Hayden Turfcare), Richard Campey (Campey Turf Care), Alan Ferguson and George Mullen (SIS Pitches) where involved with the construction and maintenance of a numbers of pitches used in Russia.

SIS Pitches netted a contract to install six of the twelve pitches for the World Cup including the pitch at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, which hosted the opening ceremony, the opening game, the semi-final and the World Cup final itself.

George Mullan, chief executive of SIS Pitches, said it was "an honour" to put its reinforced natural turf system, SISGrass, on six of the World Cup venues. "SISGrass was only launched in 2015 and already it has been installed at a number of world-class stadiums and now the 2018 World Cup Final has been played on it," he said.

As for seed suppliers, DLF were one company asked to supply a range of seed varieties approved for use in Russia with eight of the twelve stadiums choosing to use DLF Grass seed. "It’s fantastic to be a part of the World Cup for the third time in a row, and to have such a strong position in turf grass for this top event," says DLF's CCO, Søren Halbye. "Although the Russian stadiums are spread throughout various climate zones, we have identified grass solutions to suit the different conditions found in each and every stadium and training complex."

As for keeping the grass cut both Dennis Mowers and Allett mowers were chosen to supply the stadiums and training grounds with mowers.

Dennis G860 at the Luzhniki stadium

A delivery of eighty-eight Dennis mowers had the task of preparing stadium and training complex pitches for the duration of the tournament while some venues utilised the Dennis Premier in conjunction with the G860 for matchday preparations.

Seven of the eleven stadiums used Dennis mowers, including those hosting the quarter finals, the semi-finals and the final. Steven Rienks – managing director of Queens Grass, who are the official Dennis dealer in Russia, had orchestrated proceedings and admits it has been a proud moment for himself and his company to be involved in this marvellous tournament.

Allett Mowers also had an input supplying a range of 185 mowers that included Allett Buffalos, Regals, RM34’s and C34’s specified by the stadiums, training facilities, hotels and grounds contractors in Russia. Allett’s MD Austin Jarrett said, “This tournament has been great for Britain and British manufacturing. Both Allett and our competitors have been fighting for business and we have both done very well."

Another British company playing their part were Bernhard and Company who supplied a number of their sharpening systems via their Russian distributor, Golf Technology, into three venues. With training and support, they have helped groundsmen achieve the best turf quality throughout the tournament. Paul Wilcox, Territory Manager for Europe said: “This is an exciting time for us, as well as supporting such a major event, we are confident that our products are being used appropriately in these venues and other golf clubs in what can be very challenging conditions. We would like to thank Vladimir Potapov and everyone at Golf Technology for their hard work during the World Cup."

I apologise if I have left anybody out. All in all this year’s World Cup proved to be a great success not only for the England football team and their great hoard of supporters, but for all those sportsturf related companies who played their part in helping produce an exceptional standard of playing surfaces during this most memorable tournament.

The second pitch belonging to Vardre RFC, based in Clydach, Swansea has been burnt to a crisp in what is a suspected arson.

Varde RFC Facebook

The club's bosses released a statement via social media stating they were "devastated" after the fire which started on Sunday July 8th.

The BBC reported that South Wales Police are investigating the fire after Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue service were called at about 13:30 BST on the 8th.

It's reported that the club spends up to £5,000 a year over the summer to fertilise and reseed the pitches.

Varde RFC Facebook

A post from the club on their Facebook page read, "Absolutely devastated that someone would set light to our second team pitch.

"Heartbreaking that so many good people volunteer their time and effort to improve facilities and provisions for the local community and a selfish few ruin it.

"If anyone knows any information about what happened please get in contact."

The club have subsequently set up a Just Giving page with the aim to raise £2000 to help towards repairs - a target they are currently just over halfway to achieving.

A statement on the donation page says, "The club is run on a tight budget and having already spent out a considerable amount of money in recent months on the pitches we would be grateful for any donations that can help us repair the fields for all within the local community who use them."

Bristol-based Pitchmark have made a number of new appointments and developments to consolidate what they describe as the increasing demand for their range of line marking paints, machines and accessories for all types of sport and sports surfaces.

The Pitchmark team

Pitchmark say their products are used in over thirty countries worldwide and were supplied to every stadium at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and UEFA Euro 2016 in France.

As part of the planning for the future, Darren Rodman (marketing manager), Tim Rodman (general manager) and Jon Griffiths (production manager) have now become shareholders and directors of Pitchmark, working alongside existing directors Mark and Sue Rodman. The team has also been joined by Dave Blanchard who will be known to many in the industry and also represents Pitchmark’s ambition to grow the brand, while aiming to improve the quality of working life for ground staff.

“We are always working tirelessly on research and development,” says Mark Rodman “and it’s all about regularly coming up with exciting and innovative ideas. That, and understanding what groundsmen want is what keeps us ahead.”

The company has taken on five new staff in the six months to April this year, including a new warehouse manager who has been recruited to help improve processes and procedures as the business continues to grow. “These recent changes are very exciting and will allow us to secure our place at the forefront of the industry for many years to come.” Mark added.

Success has been recognised as well with Pitchmark recently winning Business Exporter of the Year for the South West in the regional FSB small business awards. The company is also shortlisted for the Bristol Post Business Awards in the Small Business of the Year category, whilst Tim Rodman has also been shortlisted in the awards for Young Business Person of the Year and was named recently on Insider Media’s ’42 under 42’ list for the South West.

As a proud British manufacturer, this year Pitchmark joined the ‘Made in Britain campaign and in future will be using the distinctive logo on products and packaging. All of which is aimed at improving the standard of line marking internationally.

Aqua-Aid EU say the very unusual hot weather across the United Kingdom and Europe has been tackled by greenkeepers and groundsmen using their OARS and Aquifer pellets in tandem with the PROportioner application system.

AQUA-AID EU's OARS and Aquifer Pellets are combating the extraordinary dry conditions

In the last week of June alone hundreds of PROportioner applicators were sold to new users in Europe, delivering what the company describe as "phenomenal results in extraordinary dry conditions."

Many greenkeepers will be experiencing localised dry spots (LDS) on their greens for the first time this year, due to the sweltering weather which is triggered by a number of factors to cause excessive dryness. At a rootzone level, the waxy hydrophobic compounds that attach themselves to sand particles in the root zone will have done so and made these particles water repellent.

But with increasing pressure to facilitate more golf the use of the course has increased - especially during the summer - and when combined with the specifications of modern greens the issue of water repellency increases, with wetting agents commonly used to tackle this issue.

OARS (organic acid redistribution system) has been used with consistent success to deal with LDS. The pellets use a corrective approach to remove the build-up of organic acids that coat the surface of sand particles which cause water repellence and LDS conditions.

This product is commonly used together with Aquifer which provides hydration for a 30 to 45-day period, allowing water repellency to be managed while preventing LDS conditions. It provides uniform downward and lateral water movement in the top several inches of the root zone and doesn’t need to be watered in after application.

Both pellets can be applied with the PROportioner system which is designed specifically for use on all types of turf. The system doesn’t use any chemical mixing and, according to the company, makes hand watering more effective and longer lasting.

Lee Bishop, Course Manager at Burnham Beeches Golf Club in South Buckinghamshire, has said that Limagrain UK’s range of Colour Splash flower mixtures have helped him to transform an unsightly area into a stunning display of vibrant flowers - much to the delight of the members.

Colour Splash at Burnham Beeches Golf Club

Situated in the Thames Valley, Lee has been working at Burnham Beeches for 20 years and has been the Course Manager for the last 10. Along with six other members of staff Lee tends to the course, which is located in a beautiful setting on the edge of the historic Burnham Beeches woodland and is framed by a large number of mature trees.

Surrounded, mostly, by natural beauty there was however one particular area of the course which Lee felt needed improving.

“There was a bit of a wasteland area around our nets and the clubhouse directly overlooked it,” he says. “To be honest it was very scruffy and it wasn’t a great view for our members. It definitely needed a makeover and that is why we thought we would try the Colour Splash mixtures from Limagrain.”

Limagrain UK’s range of Colour Splash flower mixtures are used in a broad range of landscape and amenity areas throughout the UK. The brand was first established over ten years ago where the development of the mixtures were created in the county of Loir-et-Cher, in the centre of France. With nine mixtures in the range, for Burnham Beeches, Lee initially chose Aurora - a medium height mixture which grows to around a half-metre tall. It contains Sunbow Zinnia and Trianon Cosmos which provide effective and long-lasting flowering. After using this mixture for two years running and receiving huge praise from club members, Lee decided to add the Festival mixture this year.

Lee Bishop, Course Manager at Burnham Beeches Golf Club

“The Aurora mixture was really successful and I wanted to enhance the area with another mixture. I used the Festival seed this year because it will add a bit more height and can be seen even more so from a distance. The area is visible from quite a few areas on the golf course so it will be there for everybody to see.

“The members absolutely love it and have been really supportive. Once they saw the stunning array of flowers, and the potential it had, they started pushing for us to do more areas - hence why we are going to do even more areas with the Colour Splash next year.

“It is such a simple process. All I do is hire a rotorvator, use a small bit of weed killer and that is it. The seed mixtures are not expensive whatsoever - you get good, quick germination and I would encourage people to do it.

“I’ve also introduced bees to the area and have installed a couple of hives. There is a lot of press about bees and how scarce they are now so I think it is a great thing to do. We’ve got information boards about the bees on how we need to look after them and how the Colour Splash mixtures will help protect and make them flourish.

“My decision in choosing the Colour Splash was both because of the environmental benefits and the great aesthetics they provide - so if we can give something back to nature at the same time as the course looking great, then I think that is a job well done.”

Installation of a new Rain Bird irrigation system at Goring and Streatley Golf Club is approaching final handover.

In an area of outstanding natural beauty in Berkshire with stunning panoramic views of the Thames Valley and Ridgeway, Goring and Streatley Golf Club is an 18-hole, par 71 course designed by golf course architect Harry Colt.

Hole 7 at Goring and Streatley Golf Club

The club has made a significant investment of over £700,000 this year to upgrade to a Rain Bird IC™ Stratus™ II Central Control System with Windows™ 10 functionality and mapping. The core irrigation infrastructure has been completely replaced, with all new pipework and a total of 739 rotors across greens, tees, approaches and fairways. Rain Bird Golf 700 & 900 series rotors have been installed on greens, aprons, surrounds, fairways and tees with 5004, 8005 pop ups also used on selected teeing grounds.

“Having worked at the club for 20 years and as Course Manager for the last two," Matt Aplin explains, “our old irrigation system was 49 years old and was literally falling apart at the seams, leaking and had failing electrics. We spent two and half months last year just working on irrigation problems, trying to keep the course playable but it became impossible. During long spells of drought, the ground would bake hard, causing a hydrophobic effect, leaving poor conditions in wet weather. I visited other clubs and took advice from course managers using a Rain Bird system.

"For me, Rain Bird is the premier system and its timeless compatibility means we don’t have to dig up the course to maintain and replace rotors. Having a fully functioning Rain Bird system will make a massive difference to our six-man team here, saving so much time, especially important as we head into the mowing season. We’ll have irrigation on the fairway now which will also be a game-changer in agronomic terms. We’ll be able to use different products and wetting agents to keep specific areas receptive to moisture right through the season which makes massive difference to our members too.”

Lee Knight is Contracts Director at contractor Irrigation Control and added: “We were really pleased to be awarded the contract to install a new irrigation system; firstly because of the opportunity to be involved in such a great scheme and secondly because of the effort put in during the tender process. The challenges of this site were evident from our initial survey with changing topography, multiple services, including national electrical distribution lines and Thames Water pump stations, through to the chalk and flint ground conditions present throughout the course. We carried out multiple ground investigations before starting which allowed us to identify and allocate the most suitable plant and 14 specialist items to be used, and to plan, with our team and the client, a coordinated programme from the outset which ensured that the client could be confident in us meeting the contract targets. It has been a great partnership between ourselves and the club."

Roger Davey is Managing Director at Irrigation Consultancy, Irritech, and project managed the tender process and system installation and added: “We provided a design and specification for the irrigation system upgrade which included a water storage lake and borehole abstraction, taking into account the huge static changes (circa 70 metres across the site) and the need to conserve water and be more energy efficient.”

Bernhard and Company have announced that they are growing and have invested in turf experts to share deeper knowledge on turf technologies.

Bernhard & Company's team

Jonathan Pendry, Director of Agronomy, Renata Mundim Ribeiro, turf science graduate of the Ohio State University will now be able to demonstrate and educate how to make the best of the products Bernhard and Company supply focusing on supporting the customer through the whole decision to installation process.

As well as their presence in sharpening systems, the company say they are now bringing more knowledge to turf specialists to improve their playability through air movement and lighting solutions.

Steven Nixon, Director, said, "Bernhard and Company’s approach has always been customer centric, we will advise, train and give the expertise to provide customers with the equipment they need for the application they require in order to achieve the healthiest turf and best playability possible.”

Scamblers of Bourn, Cambridge. have welcomed on board Bartram Mowers as their latest dealer to take on the Grasshopper franchise, covering the Suffolk area.

Adrian Kersey and Martyn Keeling of Bartram Mowers

Adrian Kersey of Bartrams said, "We have dealt with Scamblers for many years and are pleased to be selling the Grasshopper range of diesel and petrol zero turns and upfronts.

"We decided to take on the franchise after exhibiting at the Suffolk Show and receiving a very positive response from both contractors and councils. We now look forward to promoting the products around the Suffolk area."

BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products), is to become the official all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and side by side vehicle (SSV) partner for Scotland’s leading agricultural lobbying organisation National Farmers Union Scotland (NFU Scotland) with its Can-Am brand.

Can-Am Outlander

The new agreement is part of BRP’s ongoing strategy to forge partnerships with relevant organisations to assist in increasing awareness of the Can-Am off-road range.

The agreement will see BRP offer an exclusive deal to eligible NFU Scotland members for its Can-Am Outlander ATV and Can-Am Traxter utility SSV line-up including its exclusive LinQ quick attach accessories range.

Both BRP and its Can-Am off-road dealership network as well as NFU Scotland will be promoting the partnership offer throughout the year.

David Lewington, NFU Scotland’s sales and marketing manager, says, "As an organisation, we are constantly on the look-out for brands that will not only enhance our range of offers but also benefit our thousands of members in their day to day businesses. The decision to bring Can-Am on board as a partner was an easy one because of the wide range of vehicles that our members will be able to choose from based on their needs and requirements. We look forward to working with the Can-Am team to promote the partnership to our members through various activities and events throughout the coming year."

James Dalke, BRP commercial development manager UK, adds, “The Scottish utility market is growing and we are always looking at ways to expand the reach of our ATVs and SSVs, which in turn will assist in increasing our share of the utility market in the region. This exclusive offer will allow us to showcase the ATVs and SSVs' key benefits.”

Are you interested in working for a national distributor of specialist groundscare and woodland equipment?

Covering the West Midlands & Wales areas, we are looking for an enthusiastic, focused and self-motivated individual. You’ll work as part of our UK sales team developing product ranges from AS Motor, Eliet, Koppl & TS Industrie with a primary focus of developing an extensive network of dealers and hire companies.

We are looking for a candidate with a well rounded experience of selling, preferably from a capital equipment background, with a sound knowledge of the UK Groundscare and Hire Equipment markets being a distinct advantage.

Sales presentation, communication skills combined with strong organisational and planning abilities along with the ability to identify sales opportunities are essential.

Competitive salary and benefits package available.

For further information please visit our website:

www.psdgroundscare.co.uk/news/post/job-opportunity.html or for more information please contact:

Scott Grieve Tel: 01282 856813 Email: scott@psdgroundscare.com and quote BDM0718

Deadline: 30th July 2018